Directors say six days of one-act plays a success
Chalk one up to experience.
And when all is said and done, experience may be all the directors can take home. But then again, that may be quite enough.
Last week, students in the advanced directing class at Utah State University put on six one-act plays. Jeremy Gordon, head of publicity for the theater department, said the plays, with their diverse levels of content and subject matter, were a huge success.
“I think the basis for the success of the one-acts is the combination of tremendous effort and immense talent from everyone involved in the process,” Gordon said. “The work produced by the theater department is a reflection of the dedication these individuals have for their craft.”
Among those individuals where directors such as Lanny Langston who, with the rest of his associates, began preparing for the one-acts back in November.
Langston, who directed “The Author’s Voice” said, “It was great after a few months of rehearsal to be able to see the payoff of all our hard work, and it was equally great to see the response the audiences have had to all of the plays.”
Though most of the students had performed a lot of acting and technical theater, this was the first time directing a major production.
Tami Eastman, who directed “Words, Words, Words” said she felt really good about this first break into directing.
“My cast was amazing,” she said. “We really worked hard as a group for the production to be a success.”
All of the directors seemed to enjoy the ability they had to work with the actors on a day-to-day basis.
“The cast and I would all talk about how things were going at rehearsals and how we could make things better,” Eastman said. “It was definitely a collaborative effort, as opposed to me just standing there telling them what to do and all that.”
Langston said, “The collaborative process I was able to go through with my actors in creating this piece was rewarding in more ways than I can adequately express with just words.”
Mindy McKinnon, director of “Luv”, also talked about the appreciation she gained for everything that goes into directing a play.
“Though I have worked with directors many times, I never realized how intense their job is. At times actors are hard to work with, but they can also be great. Seeing them work hard, develop characters, and creating something wonderful together is very rewarding,” she said.
Beyond the nuts and bolts of putting on a production, the directors of last week’s productions had the opportunity to accomplish one of the purposes of art – to educate.
“I feel that we’ve created a great piece of theater,” Langston said. “From what I’ve heard from people who have seen the show they were able to take something more away from watching it than just a sense of entertainment. I truly believe people have been able to leave my show, and the others having learned something about life and the human condition.”
As for their future in directing?
“My emphasis is theater education and so this was a great opportunity for me to get a feel for directing, since I will be doing a lot of directing when I begin teaching,” Eastman said.
McKinnon said, “I plan on continuing to direct in the future and hope my experience only makes me a better director the next time around.”
Now, the props and costumes have been stored away and everyone, from the actors and directors to production assistants and the technical staff, can breathe a sigh of relief. The memories may last a lifetime, and hopefully so will the
experience.
-mattgo@cc.usu.edu